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Montreal packs French-Canadian history, a 233-metre mountain, and North America’s biggest summer festival scene into one island. This things to do in Montreal list covers the main sights with addresses, hours, and 2026 ticket prices so you can plan a day or a week. Budget at least three days to cover the highlights, and check our Montreal events and festivals calendar if you want to time a visit around a specific festival. If you are deciding when to come, see our best time to visit Montreal guide.
Things to Do in Montreal: Old Montreal and the Waterfront
Notre-Dame Basilica
The Gothic Revival basilica at 110 Notre-Dame Street West, built in 1829, is Montreal’s most photographed interior, with a deep-blue vaulted ceiling and a 7,000-pipe Casavant organ. Adult admission is around $14 CAD, and the evening Aura light-and-music show costs about $36 CAD. It opens daily from roughly 9:00 to 16:30, with shorter Sunday hours for the show only. Buy Aura tickets online at least a day ahead; evening slots sell out in summer and December.
Old Port of Montreal (Vieux-Port)
The 2km stretch of the Old Port along the St. Lawrence River is free to walk and holds the Montreal Science Centre, the 60-metre La Grande Roue observation wheel (about $28 CAD for adults), and a riverside beach called Clock Tower Beach that opens in summer. In winter the port becomes a skating rink and the site of Igloofest. Bota Bota, a spa built on a moored ferry, sits at the western end with hot tubs overlooking the water.
Pointe-a-Calliere Museum
Built directly over archaeological ruins at 350 Place Royale, this museum covers Montreal’s 1642 founding with underground excavations you can walk through. Adult tickets run about $26 CAD, and it opens Tuesday to Sunday, roughly 10:00 to 17:00. Start here before exploring Old Montreal’s cobblestone streets; the foundation gives context to every other stop.
Things to Do in Montreal: Views and Outdoor Spaces
Mount Royal Park (Parc du Mont-Royal)
The 233-metre hill designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect behind New York’s Central Park, sits just north of downtown. The Kondiaronk Belvedere lookout gives a full skyline view, and it is free and open year-round. Reach it on foot in about 20 minutes from the Peel metro station, or take the 11 bus to the summit road. In summer people picnic at Beaver Lake; in winter the park opens cross-country ski trails and a toboggan hill. Check our Montreal weather by month guide to time a summit visit.
Saint Joseph’s Oratory
At 3800 Queen Mary Road, this is the largest church in Canada, crowned by a 97-metre dome that is the second-highest in the world after St. Peter’s in Rome. Entry to the basilica and crypt is free, and a shuttle bus climbs the 283 steps for visitors who cannot walk up. It opens daily from about 7:00 to 21:00, and the dome observation deck has a small fee. It draws over two million pilgrims and visitors a year.
Jean-Talon Market
The largest public market in Montreal, at 7070 Henri-Julien Avenue in Little Italy, runs about 200 stalls of Quebec produce, maple syrup, cheese, and flowers. It opens daily from roughly 7:00 to 18:00, later in summer, and stays busiest on weekends. Prices are lower than supermarkets for seasonal fruit, and many stalls hand out free samples. Combine it with the Little Italy neighborhood for lunch.
Things to Do in Montreal: Museums and Culture
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA)
At 1380 Sherbrooke Street West, the MMFA is Quebec’s largest museum, with five connected pavilions spanning Old Masters to contemporary art and a major visiting-exhibition program. General admission is about $24 CAD for the permanent collections, with special exhibitions ticketed separately, and it is free for visitors aged 20 and under. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, roughly 10:00 to 17:00, and until 21:00 on Wednesdays.
Espace pour la vie: Biodome, Botanical Garden, Insectarium, Planetarium
This cluster near the Olympic Stadium groups four attractions. The Biodome recreates five ecosystems from a tropical rainforest to the sub-Antarctic under one roof, with adult entry around $23 CAD. The adjacent Botanical Garden holds 22,000 plant species and its Chinese and Japanese gardens are the signature summer draw. A combo pass covering all four sites runs about $60 CAD and makes sense if you have a full day, and the nearby 165-metre Montreal Tower observation deck reopened after renovation.
Habitat 67
The experimental 1967 housing complex at 2600 Pierre-Dupuy Avenue, built for Expo 67, is a stack of 354 concrete cubes arranged like a hillside. It is not open for casual walks, but guided 90-minute tours run most weekends for about $25 to $45 CAD, and the skyline view from the nearby Old Port boardwalk is free. Architecture buffs should book the tour online since capacity is small.
Things to Do in Montreal: Food, Markets, and Nightlife
Atwater Market
At 138 Atwater Avenue, this Art Deco market hall is smaller than Jean-Talon but sits right on the Lachine Canal, where you can rent a BIXI bike or kayak after shopping. Stalls sell Quebec cheese, smoked meat, and the famous St-Viateur and Fairmount bagels. It opens daily from roughly 7:00 to 18:00, and the surrounding Saint-Henri neighborhood has some of the city’s best cafes. For getting there, see our Montreal travel tips and FAQ page.
The Bagel Battle: St-Viateur vs. Fairmount
Montreal bagels are smaller, sweeter, and wood-fired, distinct from New York style. St-Viateur Bagel (263 Saint-Viateur West) and Fairmount Bagel (74 Fairmount West) have argued for decades over which is better, and both are open 24 hours. A dozen costs about $14 CAD, and a hot sesame bagel fresh from the oven is under $2. Try both; they are a 10-minute walk apart in Mile End.
Casino de Montreal and Quartier des Spectacles
The casino, set in the former French pavilion of Expo 67 on Notre-Dame Island, is free to enter and open 24 hours with a dress code that bans sportswear after 20:00. Back downtown, the Quartier des Spectacles around Place des Festivals is the city’s entertainment core, with free outdoor performances all summer and winter light installations. For where to base yourself near the action, see our where to stay in Montreal guide. Return to our Montreal guide for the full city overview.
